Patty Shepard
Shepard on My Dear Killer (1972)
Born
Patricia Moran Shepard

(1945-10-01)October 1, 1945
Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedJanuary 3, 2013(2013-01-03) (aged 67)
Madrid, Spain
OccupationActress
Years active1966–1988
Spouse
​
(m. 1967)​
[1]
Parent
RelativesJudith Chapman (sister)

Patricia Moran Shepard[2] (October 1, 1945 – January 3, 2013) was an American film actress based in Madrid, Spain. She appeared in more than fifty Spanish, Italian and French films from the 1960s to the 1980s,[3] notably several cult horror films.

Early life

Shepard was born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1945.[3] Shepard first arrived in Spain with her father, Air Force Brigadier General Leland C. Shepard Jr., who was stationed at an airbase in Torrejón de Ardoz.[3] She moved to Madrid in 1963 to pursue studies in philosophy.[3] However, she soon began modeling and appearing in Spanish television commercials, including a campaign for a brand of brandy.[3] The roles would lead to more serious acting parts and she remained in Spain for the rest of her life.[3]

Career

Her early television credits led to a small, debut film role in La ciudad no es para mí (The City is Not For Me) in 1966, which launched her film career.[3] She appeared in more than fifty films in Spain and Italy over the next twenty years, before retiring in 1988.[3]

Shepard played the vampire countess in the iconic 1970 Paul Naschy film, La Noche de Walpurgis (the film which is credited with kickstarting the entire Spanish horror film industry of the 1970s). She also played the lead role in Hannah, Queen of the Vampires (a.k.a. Crypt of the Living Dead, and a 1972 Italian giallo named My Dear Killer.[4] She returned briefly to the horror genre in 1987 with such films as Slugs and Edge of the Axe, then retired in 1988 at age 43.

Personal life

Shepard married Spanish actor Manuel de Blas in 1967; the couple had met while filming the 1967 movie, Cita en Navarra (A Date in Navarra).[5] They were still married 46 years later at the time of her death.[6]

Her younger sister Judith Chapman is a television actress in the U.S. and had roles in Murder, She Wrote and The Young and the Restless.

Death

Shepard died from a heart attack at her home in Madrid, Spain, on January 3, 2013, at the age of 67.[3]

Partial filmography

References

  1. ↑ Salas Martos, Bartolomé (2005). El cine español: Algo más que secundarios : Más allá de la ficción. Fancy. p. 442.
  2. ↑ "Leland C. Shepard Jr. Obituary (2009) Daily Press". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Moran, Lee (January 9, 2013). "Patty Shepard, American star of Spanish silver screen, dies at 68". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  4. ↑ Brode, Douglas; Deyneka, Leah (2013). Dracula's Daughters: The Female Vampire on Film. Scarecrow Press. p. 291. ISBN 9780810892965.
  5. ↑ Salas Martos, Bartolomé (2005). El cine español: Algo más que secundarios : Más allá de la ficción. Fancy. p. 442. ISBN 9788495455406.
  6. ↑ "El actor extremeño Manuel de Blas pierde a su compañera Patty Shepard". Hoy. Vocento. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
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